File guards



y 1956 c. F. HOYT 2,743,504

FILE GUARDS Filed NOV. 3, 1954 Fooooog oo oooo INVENTOR. EDRNELIUS 1-". HUYT ATTORNEY United States PatentO FILE GUARDS v I Cornelius Rochester, N Application November 3 1954 Serial No. ace-,sz'r i -7 Claims. or. 29-80 'l 'hieinvention. relates to a fileguard and: more particularlyteafiexible guard. adaptedforuse with files used for example in automobile body repairing l Inaauto'mobile body repairing. the fenders and body parts requiring, straightening are brought back to approximate'shape, and the outer surface thereof filled with body I solder, and thereafter the surface is rendered smooth through the use of a bodyfil'e-having. a relatively flat surface with coarse transverse cutting teeth. Such files are relatively. flexible,v and are adapted through the use of a file holder to be; curved lengthwise thereofleither concave or convex,v to assist in: smoothingv out. curved surfaces. The width of. suchfiles is in order of about an 1%., and so long as the file is held generally flat against the work, no difiiculty is encountered. However, when. a. fender has beerrrounded'- out and: filled with solder, and a finished surface nearly completed for applying. enamel or lacquer, there is always danger that instroki'nglthe file,. the same may be tipped, with. the result that. the sharp cutting cornersof each of the cutting; teeth along the side edges of the filemay gouge the'work andruinv the nearly finished smooth surface. When. so gouged it is necessary to flow fresh solder on the surface and commence the smooth.- ing. operation anew, since the slightest groove will result in. unsightly line after the lacquer or enamel has been applied.

The present invention is directed to a guard for use in conjunction. with such files, and holders therefor, which will effectively preventaccidental gouging. The inventhan is further directed to the provision ofv a guard which may flex lengthwise with. the file, and which may also flex crosswiseof the file so that the guard may be ad justed relative to the common. plane ofthe cutting teeth of the file.

, i The above and other novelfeatures. of the invention. will appear more fully hereinafter from. the following detailed description, when. taken in. conjunction with the accompanyingl drawings. It' is expressly understood that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and'are, not designed as a definition. of the limits of the invention, reference being. had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indidicate like parts: i

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a file and holder with the guard in position;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the file guard, the holder being cut away on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a substantially full size transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing the application of the guard to a file and holder;

Figure 4 is a transverse section similar to Figure 3, in which the guard is adjusted to provide. greater transverse curvature; and

Figure 5 is a section through the adjustment of the holder adapted to provide lengthwise curvature of the file 2 I and guard, the section. being taken on line 5--5 of. ure 1..

ImFigure 1= there shown a pairnof. spaced members hers: 18 and20 are pivotally'attached to upstanding arms 26: and 28'. of therrespective members 6 and 8, and arezpivoted thereto: asat 30 and. 32: Thefile and strap are secured tothe membersG and8 by'screws'34:and 36,,the:heads of whichaare countersunkirnfllefile ends; The filehas curved transverse cutting teeth: 38; and 40; on its opposite sides; which are milled or otherwise formed and subsequently hardened.

To prevent the edges 42: or 44 of. the file from gouging the work, should the file be tipped during smoothing of a particular work piece, there: is interposed' between; the file16: and the strap 14, a channelv section guard 46 formed of thin resilientste'el, such: as stainlesssteel or other suit. able material. The endsof the guard are rounded as: at 48 and 50, andithe side edges are rolled lengthwise as at 52. and 54 to provide W0rk=engaging flange faces 56* and 58, whichwill prevent tipp'iug'of the file during usage. The commonpl'ane. of thefaces 56 and158 willlie slightly above the plane of the cutting teeth 38, so as not to interfere with the filing operation, and: to: permit. the file to be.used-i on slightly reverse: curved worklsuch. as is indicated at 60: in Figure 3.

The guard is provided. with matching holes at either end t'o receive the screws34 and36, and alongeither side; inward of the rolled ed'gessSZ-and 5d areseries of enlarged perforations 62 and 64 to provide adequate escape for filrugs- In practice, the guard. member will: be provided with residual resilient transverse curvature as showniir Figure 4, which will. permit the shifting: of the plane of the rolled edges 56 and 58 with reference to the. plane of the cut: ting teeth 38, by tightening or loosening the screws. 34 and 36. In Figure 3, the screws are drawn tight, flattening the transverse curvature between the strap 14 and the file 16,. whereas in. Figure: 4', the screws are loosened, permitting slight transverse curvature whereby therolled edges 56 and 58'substantial'ly" lie in the planeof the teeth: Any intermediate adjustment may be made as desired; In working convex surfaces as indicated at 62, the latter adjustment will. be'found desirable to afiord adequate protection againstw tipping and possible gouging. The springiness of the guard member will hold the screws 34' and 36 taut, no matter whether in the loosened position of Figure 4 or when set as. in Figure 3.

The turnbuckle 24is' adapted to bend the strap and file lengthwisetoiprovideeither convex or concave curvature, depending on whether the sleeve 22 is turned to draw the members 6 and 8 closer or to spread them. The flexibility of the guard memberlengthwise, is such as 'to readily conform. to whatever: curvature is emposed' on the file 16 and. strap 14, and thus the guard. readily accommodates itself to any of the usual adjustments intended to be made by the holder and file, were the guard not present. It will be seen thus that the guard is adaptableto protecting the work against accidental gouging at all times, and readily adaptable to be equally effective on surfaces being smoothed of varying curvature.

While stainless steel has been suggested for the guard, it will be appreciated that any tough resilient sheet metal having the desired characteristics may be used, it being necessary that the flange faces 56 and 58 be rounded and smooth so as not to mark or mar the surface being prepared.

- Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the width approximately double the width of the file for which it is adapted, and said rolled side edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of the file whereby a common plane tangential to said rolled edges lies behind the outer file surface.

2. A file guard comprising a resilient sheet metal elongated channel section, said channel section having a central portion with rolled edges'along the side edges thereof, said guard adapted to be held against the back of an elongated flat rectangular section file, said guard being of a width approximately double the width of the file for which it is adapted, and said rolled side edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of the file whereby a common plane tangential to said rolled edges lies behind the outer file surface, said central portion being curved crosswise thereof and concave on the side of the rolled edges.

:3. A file guard comprising a resilient sheet metal elongated channel section, said channel section having a central portion with rolled edges along the side edges there of, said guard adapted .to be held against the back of an elongated flat rectangular section file, said guard being of a width approximately double the width of the file for which it is adapted, andsaid rolled side edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of the file whereby a common plane tangential to said rolled edges lies behind the outer file surface, said central portion being curved crosswise thereof and concave on the side of the rolled edges, and said central portion having two rolls of perforations extending substantially, the length thereof adjacent the rolled edges to provide for the escape of filings.

4. A file guard comprising a resilient sheet metal elongated channel section, said channel section having a central portion with rolled edges along the side edges thereof, said guard adapted to be held against the back of an elongated flat rectangular section file, said guard being of a width approximately double the width of the file for which it is adapted, and said rolled side edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of the file Whereby a common plane tangential to said rolled edges lies behind the outer file surface, said central portion having two rows of perforations extending substantially the length thereof adjacent the rolled edges to provide for the escape of filings.

5. A body finishing file comprising a file holder having spaced hand grips connected by a flexible flat strap, adjustable tension means connecting said hand grips laterally disposed with respect to said flat strap for effecting length wise curvature thereof, a resilient channel sectioned guard ,member having rolled edges applied to said strap with the rolled edges extending awayfrom the strap, a rectangular section file of a length applied to the guard member and located between the rolled edges, common means at either end for securing said file guard member, and strap to said spaced hand grips, said rolled edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of said file, and said rolled edges being spaced apart by approximately double the width of said file. l

6 A body finishing file comprising a file holder hav ing spaced hand grips connected by a flexible flat strap, adjustable tension means connecting said hand grips laterally disposed with respect to said flat strap for etfecting lengthwise curvature thereof, a resilient channel sectioned guard member having rolled edges applied to said strap with the rolled edges extending away from the strap, a rectangular section file of a length applied to the guard member and located between the rolled edges, common threaded fastening means extending into each of said hand grip at either end for securing said file guard member and strap to said spaced hand grips, said rolled edges being of a diameter slightly'less than the thickness of said file, said rolled edges being spaced apart by approximately double the width of said file, the central portion of said guard member having residual curvature crosswise thereof to produce a concave surface on the rolled edge side thereof, and said flat strap and file having relatively flat surfacesin engagement with the central portion of said guard member, whereby adjustment in the tension of said threaded fastening means efiects a variation in the transverse curvature of said central portion and shifts the common plane tangential to said rolled edges in respect to the outer surface of said file.

7. A body finishing file comprising a file holder having spaced hand grips connected by a flexible flat 'strap, adjustable tension means connecting said hand grips laterally disposed with respect to said flat strap for effecting lengthwise curvature thereof, a resilient channel sectioned guard member having rolled edges applied to said strap with the rolled edges extending away from the strap, a rectangular section fileof a length applied to the guard member and located between the rolled edges, common threaded fastening means extending into each of said hand grips at either end for securing said file guard member and strap to said spaced hand grips, said rolled edges being of a diameter slightly less than the thickness of said file, said rolled edges being spaced apart by approximately double the width of said file, the central portion of said guard member having residual curvature crosswise thereof to produce a concave surface on the rolled edge side thereof, and said flat strap and file having relatively flat surfaces in engagement with the central portion of said guard member, whereby adjustment in the tension of said threaded fastening means eflects' a variation in the transverse curvature of said central portion and shifts the common plane tangential to said rolled edges in respect to the outer surface of said file, the central portion of said file immediately adjacent the rolled edges thereof having two rows of perforations extending lengthwise of the file to provide for escape of filings.

No references cited. 

